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UNDP/PAPP's Assistance and support to the Empowerment of Palestinian Women F rom infrastructure projects, to support to women in decision-making
positions, UNDP/Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People
PAPP) has an extensive portfolio of projects and programmes that
have contributed to the empowerment of Palestinian women. In 2004, UNDP/PAPP supported the newly established Palestinian National Authority
(PNA) Ministry of Women's Affairs through the provision of technical support, particularly
in the area of strategic planning. Through UNDP/PAPP's assistance, the Ministry of
Women's Affairs defined its main aim as "empowering and supporting Palestinian women
to actively participate in building and developing a democratic Palestinian state." UNDP/PAPP's support also extended to the formulation of more immediate aims
including: - Increasing the PNA's commitment to include gender, democracy and
human rights issues in governmental policies and planning, as well as relevant
legislation; - Linking advocacy activities with the development of policies and laws;
- Building networks between governmental institutions, non-governmental
organizations (NGO's) and civil society organizations at the regional and international
levels, with the aim of highlighting women's issues and facilitating the implementation
of international conventions on human rights. The Ministry of Women's Affairs' three-year action plan, developed with support from
UNDP/PAPP following a wide consultation process with Palestinian civil society,
focuses on three main priority areas:
- Empowering Palestinian women in policy and decision-making;
- Combating poverty of young women and female headed households;
- Improving vocational and technical training opportunities for women. In addition to extensive support to the Ministry of Women's Affairs through the provision
of technical expertise, UNDP/PAPP has also worked in the development of gender
sensitive policies and programmes at the national level in other PNA ministries, as
well as non-governmental institutions. At the community level, UNDP/PAPP has worked
towards the socio-economic empowerment of women, as well as gender mainstreaming
in poverty initiatives. Socio-economic empowerment of women: Establishment of Women's Centers in Rural
Communities Due to the current economic crisis and high levels of unemployment in the occupied Palestinian
territory (oPt), UNDP/PAPP has focused on job creation largely through a wide-range of
infrastructure projects. However, this has often meant that a large proportion of the beneficiaries of
these projects have been males, due to the labor-intensive nature of the work. Therefore, UNDP/
PAPP has been keen to encourage and support community-based women groups to utilize newly
built community centers, enabling women to access services, training and resources. A Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was conducted in early 2005 to assess the utilization status
of community centers built by UNDP/PAPP through the support of number of donors. The findings
of the PRA urged UNDP/PAPP to work closely with local communities to ensure proper utilization
of the centers. Within the framework of the Community Centers Activation Project, UNDP/PAPP
engaged in an agreement with UNIFEM to establish eight women's centers, beginning with two
pilot centers in the northern West Bank, and extending to another six villages in the southern West
Bank. These centers have proven successful in contributing to the empowerment of rural women
and female community leaders. Gender Mainstreaming in Poverty Monitoring Initiatives UNDP/PAPP funded a research study examining the situation of internally displaced families due
to the construction of the separation wall, as well as supported the work of the Palestinian Pro-Poor
Participatory Planning Project, which focuses on greater participation and inclusion of marginalised
voices in the decision-making process. In addition, UNDP/PAPP provided support to the Palestinian
Public Perceptions report on living conditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which included a
specific section on the situation of women. Infrastructure UNDP/PAPP has also initiated a number of infrastructure projects that have provided women with
dedicated space in which to learn and gather, or health facilities to tackle the medical issues facing
Palestinian women. This has included the construction of dedicated women;s health wards in
hospitals, women's community centres, as well as girls' schools and tertiary education institutions
for women.